Disklavier

Mark,  Thanks for the suggestions.  When I first received the DC3 I
downloaded the iPad app and did use it to trial it.  I don't recall that I
altered the volume though, but I might have.  I did not persist with the
iPad as I found my laptop far more useful for playing midi files using
VanBasco.  I don't recall, changing the volume of any particular file in
VanBasco but, in any event, this would probably not have the same effect as
changing the volume from the PRC or iPad..  Perhaps I should connect using
the iPad again and push the volume to maximum.  I will need to await the
current test period I have agreed with Yamaha before I connect any external
device to the DKV.

 

Regarding the second fault, I suspect you are right and, like most small
computers, they crash occasionally because of software bugs.

 

I will report back once I have tested the volume setting using the iPad.

 

As an aside,  if anyone is interested in playing midi files on their
Disklavier using a laptop wirelessly, there is a product made by IOGEAR
(called a Wireless 4-port sharing station  - find it at
http://www.iogear.com/product/GUWIP204/) which connects your laptop to the
USB port of the DKV without a cable - using your home wifi network.  It
works very well.  Note- you need a USB port on DKV to input midi data - I
could not find a way of doing it with midi cables.  Although, you might be
able to use the combination of the IOGEAR product and a USB-MIDI adapter
(with an installable driver file - see note below).

 

Note:  I also have other midi instruments which require an external usb-midi
adapter to connect to a laptop.  Cheap Chinese adapters seem to come with a
driver built in which probably installs every time it is connected.  I could
not get these devices to work with the wireless sharing station.  To connect
the Disklavier to a laptop using USB you need to download and install a
driver on the laptop from the Yamaha website.  The sharing station then
worked fine.

 

Regards

Geoff 

  _____  

From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Mark Burby
Sent: Wednesday, 8 May 2013 10:40 AM
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [disklavier] Fault with new DKV Mark IV

 

  

Geoff

 

On fault #2 - Just a thought as this happened to me, but if you have ever
altered the volume of the piano when in Quiet mode through the iPhone/iPad
(or possibly some other external device?!), then for some reason this can
upset the volume balance on the piano which I was unable to correct using
the Yamaha PRC or through any kind of reset. Once the volume was reset via
the iPhone app, this restored my system to glorious full volume. I think
this is a nasty bug for the unwary. Hope this fixes your problem.

 

On fault #1 - This is unfortunately not uncommon though it does seem to be
happening more frequently in your case. I have had this happen many times
and a hard power reset (shutting down and then physically disconnecting the
power for 30 seconds) is the only way to restore the system. This is another
'feature' but hopefully one that does not occur too frequently so as to
cause you major inconvenience. I have not been able to determine the root
cause (nor have I seen anything on the forum to this effect). Seemingly
random - but unlikely to be a fault, just a flaw in the software / hardware.
Very unlikely to be your laptop. The MkIV is an incredibly sophisticated and
complex bit of machinery that was developed many years ago, and was a major
feat of its time. However, generally in the world of IT, application crashes
used to happen a lot more in the past than they do these days (ymmv), and I
think this is just a legacy of the past.

 

Mark

 

On 8 May 2013 06:21, Geoff Ward <gward1211@...> wrote:

  

Thanks for the suggestions.  We've done all that, including retro installing
version 3 of the software so it would allow us to re-install version 4.  I
have also recalibrated the keyboard sensors.

My difficulty is getting Yamaha to acknowledge that there is anything wrong
with the piano so that they might get an engineer to look at it.

After the 8th drop-out, I have agreed with Yamaha not to connect the
internet or any other device to the piano - to see if it happens again.

 

Geoff

 

  _____  

From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Adrian Thomas
Sent: Wednesday, 8 May 2013 1:30 AM
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [disklavier] Fault with new DKV Mark IV

 

  

You could try a reset (should be under the "Setup" -> "System" functions).
If that doesn't work, try reloading the software (if you're on the internet,
go to "Network Update" in the internet options). After re-installing the
software, also make sure you do the interface updater on the remote and then
go to "Setup" -> "System" -> " Recall Demo Album". If the piano says that
you already have the latest software, you may need to do the update using a
booot disk and CD to force the piano to re-install the software.

 

It's unlikely that you have a hardware fault with the default piano voice,
otherwise you'd get more serious problems than it just "not sounding right".

 

If that doesn't work, you probably need to get an engineer to have a look at
the piano.

Adrian Thomas

On May 7 2013, Geoff Ward wrote: 

>The piano selected is the grand piano. The settings have all been checked
>by a Yamaha rep. The tonal problem is noticeable in playing any file or
>playing from the keyboard in quiet mode. 
>
>The 8th keyboard lock-up happened tonight. In fact, the whole thing was
>frozen in quiet mode and no sound could be obtained at all. It needed a
>reboot.
>
> 
>
>Geoff
>
> 
>
> _____ 
>
>From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] On
>Behalf Of CarolRPT
>Sent: Monday, 6 May 2013 4:36 PM
>To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: [disklavier] Fault with new DKV Mark IV
>
> 
>
> 
>
>There are several different piano tones included on that sound card. The
>headphone jack used to have its own amplifier and a sampled version of the
>Yamaha CFIII concert grand piano. So check the settings and see what tone
is
>being played and that the volume is set to your liking. It also depends on
>the data in the music files. Are you having this problem playing Yamaha
>files?
>
>Carol
>
>On May 5, 2013, at 6:12 PM, "gward1211" > > wrote:
>
>> I have a brand new C3 with a DKV Mark IV. It is 2 months old. 
>> There seems to be 2 faults with this DKV, Yamaha says not so.
>> 
>> My question: Can anyone out there with a Mark IV please tell me whether
>the digital piano in quiet mode is a close tonal approximation of the
>acoustic piano - or is there a big difference - like chalk and cheese? None
>of the dealers where I live have a Mark IV on display.
>> 
>> Background:
>> The first fault appeared whilst playing in Quiet Mode with headphones.
The
>digital piano suddenly stopped playing. The only way to get it working
again
>was to power off and on again. A string of I/O errors were reported on the
>screen of the PRC100.
>> This has now happened a total of 7 times and Yamaha denies there is a
>fault, claiming that because I have connected a laptop to the USB port and
>played some MIDI files on several occasions, that this has somehow upset
the
>settings of the DKV. In none of the instances when the keyboard drop-out
>fault has occurred, has the laptop been connected to the DKV. I have agreed
>with Yamaha that we will wait and see if it happens again.
>> 
>> 2nd fault: I continued to play in quiet mode without headphones and
>immediately noticed that the digital piano had lost its "guts" -playing
>loudly does not produce near the volume that it used to. The tonal quality
>(in my opinion) has also suffered. Before this occurrence, the digital
piano
>in quiet mode was a very good approximation of the acoustic piano. Now it
>sounds like a $1,000 cheapie. The tone is a flat tone with no harmonics or
>overtones that you can hear from the acoustic piano. This is somewhat
>subjective - when I first got the DKV I was amazed at how good the digital
>piano sounded. Now I am embarrassed to show it to anyone.
>> A Yamaha rep has called but can't get it back to what it was (in my
>opinion) before the fault occurred. He says it sounds ok. Hence, my
question
>above.
>> 
>> Kind regards
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------------
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